|
Please
send comments and inquiries to pthorp.ed@votf.org.
"We
urge other parishes to consider this new model of Spirit-driven
dialogue… We expect
Archdiocesan leadership to hear us today and to provide
channels for lasting communication and genuine collaboration.
Today, we raise our voices to claim our place at the
table. We are the Church…" Voice of the Faithful
statement at the Archdiocesan Convocation held by Cardinal
Law in Boston MA on March 9, 2002
NATIONAL
News
Five
years ago tomorrow, VOTF made its archdiocesan "debut" at
the Boston archdiocesan convocation called by Cardinal
Law. Read the VOTF
statement of March 9, 2002.
Bishop
Thomas Gumbleton was awarded a VOTF Priest
of Integrity Award in Washington DC at an event
hosted by VOTF at Holy Trinity. VOTF president
Mary Pat
Fox presented the award – read Mary Pat’s remarks
here. Most
VOTF regions have received the Priest Support
Working Group proposal; read the proposal
text at NRC
Update. (Do you know what VOTF region
your state is in and your representative? If not, click
here.)
VOTF
issued a press
release on the San Diego archdiocese’s
decision to file for bankruptcy.
The
VOTF Protecting Our Children working group has distributed
the "Protection of Children National Parish
Survey" to
at least one parish in each of the 194 dioceses and
eparchies in the United States. Click
here to take the survey.
| SAVE
the Date for the VOTF 2007 Convention – The
theme: Discipleship in Action. The date: October
19-20, 2007. The location: Rhode Island Convention
Center, Providence RI. Decisions on workshops/panels,
speakers, keynoters, etc. are nearing finalization.
Shortly, the VOTF website will have a convention-dedicated
page that will keep all of us “on the
same page” as details and plans emerge.
See the Convention Team’s “heads
up” message in this issue at VOTF
Convention 2007. NOTE: Even
our far-flung National Representative Council
will be meeting
that weekend in Providence, providing attendees
with another opportunity to see “discipleship
in action.” |
DIOCESE/State
Watch:
San
Diego CA: Attorney Marci Hamilton asks just
what is so complicated about accountability. “On
Sunday, February 18, Roman Catholic Bishop Robert
Brom distributed leaflets to the San Diego faithful
in the pews. In the leaflets, he tried to make the
case that the San Diego Diocese could be forced into
Chapter 11 bankruptcy because of the 143 consolidated
clergy abuse cases against the diocese for the hierarchy’s
role in the cover up of child abuse. . The leaflets
tried to cloud the simple issue that the plaintiffs’ suits
really raise – whether the Diocese and its
hierarchy will take responsibility for their wrongs
to children.” For the full text, click
here. Also note the following:
- SignOnSanDiego.com editorial
noted, “… it is not cynical but painfully
honest to assume that the bankruptcy warning is more
of a legal and public relations tactic than anything
else.”
- Beliefnet.com
reports: “After four years of legal wrangling
in the clergy-abuse scandal, attorneys for Bishop
Robert Brom filed for Chapter 11 protection last
night, making San Diego the largest Roman Catholic
diocese in the nation to declare bankruptcy.”
- ABCnews.com -
Calif. Diocese Plans Bankruptcy Filing
- Read
the VOTF statement.
- See
Dr. Mary Gail Frawley-O’Dea’s take on
the San Diego filing here. In
part, O’Dea said, “Bishop Brom's bankruptcy
does not seem to fit the pastoral bill.”
Additional
diocesan/state news from Cleveland OH; Chicago
IL; Bridgeport CT and Louisville KY is inside at DIOCESE/State
Watch.
AFFILIATE
Highlight: Cleveland
OH where William Clark, SJ and VOTF Cleveland OH
talked about the authority of the local parish.
Fr. Clark’s book A Voice of Their Own:
The Authority of the Local Parish was published in 2005
and is
available at Amazon.com.
SITE-Seeing,
Etc. [Message
to readers: Some magazine/newspaper links we
provide in connection to a story require a
paid subscription; however, many sites simply
require that you register (no charge). In the
latter case, the site will “recognize” your
computer the next time you click on a link
to that site. We also suggest that if none
of the above works for you, many libraries
carry the magazine or newspaper we are citing.]
Need
a break? A film to remember is coming to
the Boston Area: “Into Great
Silence” will open at the Kendall Square
Cinema, Cambridge MA on March 16. The film
is set in the French Alps at the Grande Chartreuse,
considered one of the world’s most
ascetic monasteries. “In 1984, German
filmmaker Philip Gröning wrote to the
Carthusian order for permission to make a
documentary about them. They said they would
get back to him. Sixteen years later, they
were ready. Gröning, sans crew or artificial
lighting, lived in the monks’ quarters
for six months—filming their daily
prayers, tasks, rituals and rare outdoor
excursions…. More meditation than documentary,
it’s a rare, transformative theatrical
experience for all.” The New York
Times reviewer A. O. Scott said, “I
hesitate, given the early date and the project’s
modesty, to call ‘Into Great Silence’ one
of the best films of the year. I prefer to
think of it as the antidote to all of the
others.” To read more about the film,
watch the trailer, and check show times,
go to zeitgiestfilms.com and landmarktheatres.com.
For group sale information, contact Howie
Sandler at 617-621-1202.
For
an overview of US parishes struggling
with embezzlement and other financial
challenges, Frank Douglas (VOTF representative,
Region 8) suggests a visit to Joe McMahon’s website.
Sharon
Daly received the 2006 U.S. Catholic Award
for Furthering the Cause of Women in the
Church. The former Vice President
of Social Policy for Catholic Charities USA
and previous director of domestic social
policy for the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops (USCCB) received the 2006
U.S. Catholic Award for Furthering the Cause
of Women on February 13, 2007 during the
USCCB Social Ministry Gathering in Washington. Read
more.
Protecting
Our Children – the tragedy
of Roman Catholic sexual abuse of children
by clergy has had the good effect of consciousness-raising
among non-Catholic denominations. SNAP is
looking at the Southern Baptist record. See Citizen-Times.com (NC)
site CNN.com.
The Advocate (CT)
reports on how one parish regards young
females: “Although most area
Catholic churches follow the modern practice
of using altar girls, a Norwalk parish recently
reverted to a traditional boys-only policy
and started a program for girls teaching them
to sew, cook and arrange flowers for the altar.” For
this February 2007 story, click
here.
QUOTE
for our time: “Cozzens’s
work raises valid questions about mandatory
celibacy’s impact on the people of
God and those of whom it is required. It
is better to respond to the questions for
the good of the church than to run from them
at the church’s peril.” America magazine
review of Fr. Donald Cozzens’ book Freeing
Celibacy
|
